II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1632 

To establish an additional fund in the Treasury to meet existing statutory 

obligations to reimburse costs reasonably incurred as a result of the 

reorganization of broadcast television spectrum, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2017 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

YOUNG, and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish an additional fund in the Treasury to meet 

existing statutory obligations to reimburse costs reasonably incurred as a result of the reorganization of broadcast television spectrum, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Viewer and Listener 

5 Protection Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 


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•S 1632 IS

1 (1) the term ‘‘broadcast radio station’’ means 

2 any entity that is licensed by the Commission as an 

3 AM, FM, noncommercial educational FM, or FM 

4 Translator radio broadcast station under the Com5 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); 

6 (2) the term ‘‘broadcast television station’’ 

7 means any— 

8 (A) full-power television broadcast station; 

9 or 

10 (B) low-power television broadcast station 

11 that has been accorded primary status as a 

12 Class A television licensee under section 

13 73.6001(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula14 tions; 

15 (3) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

16 Communications Commission; and 

17 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

18 of the Treasury. 

19 SEC. 3. VIEWER AND LISTENER PROTECTION FUND. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

22 ‘‘Viewer and Listener Protection Fund’’. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Viewer and Lis25 tener Protection Fund such sums as may be necessary to 


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1 carry out the purposes of the Viewer and Listener Protec2 tion Fund. 

3 (c) PURPOSES.— 

4 (1) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—If the Commis5 sion makes the certification described in paragraph 

6 (2), amounts in the Viewer and Listener Protection 

7 Fund shall be available to the Commission to make 

8 any payments— 

9 (A) required under section 

10 6403(b)(4)(A)(ii) of the Middle Class Tax Re11 lief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 

12 1452(b)(4)(A)(ii)); or 

13 (B) to a broadcast television station or a 

14 broadcast radio station for costs that the sta15 tion incurred during the reorganization of 

16 broadcast television spectrum. 

17 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Amounts in the Viewer 

18 and Listener Protection Fund shall be available to 

19 the Commission immediately upon certification by 

20 the Commission to the Secretary that the amounts 

21 are necessary to provide a reimbursement to a 

22 broadcast television station or to a broadcast radio 

23 station, as applicable, for a purpose described in 

24 paragraph (1). 


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1 (d) LIMITATION.—Amounts made available to the 

2 Commission under subsection (c) shall be available until 

3 the end of fiscal year 2022. 

4 (e) UNUSED FUNDS RETURNED TO THE GENERAL

5 FUND OF THE TREASURY.—If any amounts remain in the 

6 Viewer and Listener Protection Fund after the end of fis7 cal year 2022, the Secretary shall transfer such amounts 

8 to the general fund of the Treasury. 

9 SEC. 4. TRANSITION PERIOD FOR BROADCAST TELEVISION 

10 STATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

12 (1) subject to subsection (b), modify the transi13 tion period for the relocation of specific broadcast 

14 television stations in accordance with the reassign15 ments of television channels made under section 

16 6403(b) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre17 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452(b)) to ensure 

18 that— 

19 (A) no broadcast television station is 

20 forced to stop broadcasting or significantly re21 duce service for a significant period of time due 

22 to reasons outside of the control of the station; 

23 and 


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1 (B) the relocation of broadcast television 

2 stations proceeds as efficiently and effectively 

3 as possible; and 

4 (2) establish appropriate penalties for a broad5 cast television station that fails to meet any deadline 

6 adopted under paragraph (1), unless the failure of 

7 the station to meet the deadline is for a reason that 

8 is outside of the control of the station. 

9 (b) MODIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—When making 

10 the modification required under subsection (a)(1), the 

11 Commission shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure 

12 that the modification does not delay the deployment of 

13 broadband services. 

14 SEC. 5. IMPACT ON RADIO LISTENERS. 

15 The Commission shall make all reasonable efforts to 

16 preserve the coverage area and population served by any 

17 broadcast radio station that is impacted by the reorganiza18 tion authorized under section 6403(b) of the Middle Class 

19 Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 

20 1452(b)). 

Æ 


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